Hobbs vetoed protections for Arizona children on puberty blockers and hormones

Arizona children deserve protection from the drugs as well as the scalpel, and Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed the bill that would have given it to them. On June 19, 2026, Hobbs rolled S.B. 1095 and two other bills on sex-change procedures for minors into a single veto, calling them "unnecessary" because Arizona already bans gender-reassignment surgery on minors, the Arizona Capitol Times reported¹.

Unnecessary for whom?

The bill covered hormones, not just surgery

Arizona's existing law, signed by then-Gov. Doug Ducey in 2022, bars irreversible gender-reassignment surgery on anyone under 18. S.B. 1095 would also have barred hormone treatments for minors, the Capitol Times reported. Hobbs's veto message, the paper found, "did not grapple with the bill’s attempt to extend restrictions to hormone therapy¹."

The Senate fact sheet lays out what she blocked. Starting April 1, 2027, the bill would have barred physicians and other health professionals from providing a gender transition procedure to anyone under 18. It also would have barred them from referring a minor to another provider for one. A violation would have been unprofessional conduct subject to licensing discipline. The attorney general could have sued to enforce it. A young person harmed as a minor could have sued in their own name for 20 years after turning 18².

The Senate passed it 16-11-3 on Feb. 23. The House passed it 31-25-4 on June 9. Ten days later, Hobbs killed it².

Arizona parents reject the school status quo

Nearly 80% of Arizona voters have an unfavorable opinion of public education in their state, the Daily Signal reported. It called that verdict "one of the few areas of agreement between Republicans and Democrats in the weeks leading to Election Day." Only one-quarter of Arizona eighth graders are proficient in reading, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress³.

20 years

Hobbs's answer that same June day was to tell elected lawmakers to stand aside. She vetoed a bill directing the state Board of Education to develop lessons on prenatal development. She wrote that such decisions "should be left to experts, not politicians trying to force mandates on our teachers¹." Defer to the experts is the same answer she gave on hormones for minors.

Voters say the veto hurts Hobbs

Hobbs vetoed 88 bills from the Republican-controlled Legislature on June 19 alone, bringing her total for the year to 151¹. On this one, she would not even name the part of the bill she was rejecting. A governor who answers a question about hormones by talking about surgery is on defense, and she knows which answer Arizona families would hear.

In 2020, Donald Trump's campaign kept away from men in women's sports and sex-change procedures on minors, and Trump lost. In 2024 he made the issue central alongside an affordability message, and he won⁴. Hobbs chose the 2020 playbook.

Arizona should protect children from the drugs

Arizona banned the surgery in 2022, and the next governor should sign the rest. S.B. 1095 already passed both chambers once, so lawmakers should send it back. Every candidate for governor owes Arizona parents three answers.

Should an Arizona child be put on puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones, yes or no? Should a doctor who refers a minor for those drugs keep a clean license, yes or no? Will you sign S.B. 1095, yes or no?

Sources

1. Veto blitz: Hobbs blocks 88 bills before the weekend | Arizona Capitol Times
2. SB1095 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet
3. @DailySignal on X, 2026-10-13: FIRST ON DAILY SIGNAL—Nearly 80% of Arizona voters have an unfavorable opinion of public education in their state, one of the few areas of agreement between Republicans and Democrats in the weeks leading to Election Day. Only one-quarter of Arizona eighth gra, 2026-10-13
4. POLITICO Magazine, 'The Wedge Issue That's Dividing Trumpworld', Aug 7, 2020